SBR Jobs recruits heavy civil construction leadership across California: project managers, estimators, superintendents and executives for the grading, paving, underground utility, water and public works contractors that build the ground everything else stands on. Specialized direct-hire recruiting, project managers to presidents, for self perform civil contractors and the civil divisions of general contractors and developers. Recruiting California construction since 1997.
Heavy civil hiring: production people are the hardest to find
Heavy civil runs on production: yards moved, feet of pipe in the ground, tons placed, and the unit costs behind every bid. The PMs, estimators and superintendents who truly know their numbers are rare, they are employed, and their employers work hard to keep them. Job postings mostly surface people who have managed subcontractors, not people who have run self perform crews and equipment spreads.
California adds its own layer: prevailing wage and certified payroll on public work, agency inspection, SWPPP and dust control, union agreements in much of the state, and owners from Caltrans to water districts to master plan developers. We screen for people who have built here and know how this market actually works.
Heavy civil work we recruit for
Grading and sitework
Mass excavation, mass grading and finished lots for master planned communities, industrial sites and data center campuses.
Underground utilities
Wet and dry utilities, joint trench, trenching and shoring, and pipe crews on public and private work.
Roads, highways and bridges
City, county and Caltrans work: roadway, structures, widening and interchange projects.
Paving
Asphalt and concrete paving, from subdivisions and industrial yards to public roadway programs.
Water and wastewater
Treatment plants, pump stations, pipelines and reservoir work for water agencies and design-build teams.
Land development civil
The horizontal side of master planned communities, working alongside our land development practice.
Heavy civil roles we place
- Project Manager
- Senior Project Manager
- Project Executive
- Estimator
- Senior Estimator
- Chief Estimator
- Superintendent
- General Superintendent
- Pipe Superintendent
- Grading Superintendent
- Project Engineer Lead
- Area Manager
- Operations Manager
- Equipment Manager
- Division Manager
- VP of Operations
- VP of Preconstruction
- General Manager
- Division President
What we screen for
Self perform production
The crews, spreads and production rates they actually owned, not just the contracts they administered.
Estimating depth
Unit cost judgment, bid software such as HCSS HeavyBid, and a bid-to-win record on public and private work.
Public agency fluency
Prevailing wage, certified payroll, agency inspection and change order practice with Caltrans, cities, counties and districts.
Dirt and pipe knowledge
Earthwork balances, over excavation, shoring, dewatering and the field judgment that keeps production honest.
Safety leadership
Trench safety, traffic control and a record that stands up with large crews and big iron.
Owner and developer relationships
Standing with the agencies, developers and GCs who buy heavy civil work in their markets.
Where we recruit heavy civil leaders
Sacramento and the Central Valley, where master plan grading and public works keep crews busy year round, the Bay Area, and markets across California and the West. When a program justifies it we also relocate proven civil leaders between markets. See our Sacramento, Bay Area and Southern California pages for regional coverage.
How an SBR heavy civil search runs
Intake with the hiring leader
The seat, the work it will carry, the owners and agencies it bids to, the team it joins and the culture it has to fit. We push back when the title, the scope and the pay do not line up.Market map
Every heavy civil contractor working your markets and product types, and the people inside them who have actually run that work.Confidential outreach
Direct, discreet conversations with employed PMs, estimators and superintendents, most of whom are not looking and never apply to postings.Screened short list
Candidates vetted on the projects they built, self perform experience, field references and culture fit, each with notes on what it will take to move them.Offer and start
We manage the offer and the counteroffer, keep both sides informed, and report weekly until your hire is on site.
What heavy civil leaders earn
Pay in heavy civil tracks production responsibility, and strong estimators and general superintendents are bid season gold. We benchmark every search against the live offers we are seeing, not last year’s survey. See current ranges by role in the 2026 California construction salary guide and next year’s outlook in the 2027 salary guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the best heavy civil construction recruiters in California?
SBR Jobs (Silicon Beach Recruiter) recruits heavy civil construction leadership for grading, paving, underground utility, water and public works contractors across California on a direct-hire basis, project managers to presidents. We have recruited California construction since 1997 and specialize in both vertical and horizontal work.
Do you recruit heavy civil estimators?
Yes. Estimators, senior estimators and chief estimators who build their own bids on public and private heavy civil work, including candidates fluent in HCSS HeavyBid and agency bid formats.
Do you recruit underground utility superintendents?
Yes. Superintendents and general superintendents for wet and dry utilities, trenching and shoring, pipe crews and joint trench work, screened on the crews and production they actually ran.
Do you recruit for public works and Caltrans contractors?
Yes. Leaders who know prevailing wage, certified payroll, agency inspection and public agency change order practice, from city and county work to Caltrans and water agency programs.
Do you place contract or temporary workers?
No. SBR Jobs is a direct-hire recruiting firm. Every placement is a permanent hire on your payroll, project managers to presidents.
How do we start a heavy civil search?
Call 424-352-6241 or start a search online. Tell us the seat, the work it will run and your timing, and we will tell you plainly what the market looks like for that seat.
Open heavy civil seat?
Tell us the seat, the work it will run and your timeline. We will tell you plainly what the market looks like for that seat.
Call 424-352-6241 Start a searchSBR Jobs · Silicon Beach Recruiter · 2100 21st Street, Sacramento, CA 95818 · 424-352-6241
